"I can survive on jam sandwiches for the next three years": the impact of the new fees regime on students' attitudes to HE and debt

Maringe, Felix, Foskett, Nick and Roberts, Dave (2009) "I can survive on jam sandwiches for the next three years": the impact of the new fees regime on students' attitudes to HE and debt.International Journal of Educational Management, 23, (2), 145-160. (doi:10.1108/09513540910933503).

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Description/Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this research is to draw from a project sponsored by the Higher EducationAcademy and undertaken jointly by researchers at the University of Southampton and TheKnowledge Partnership UK, which aimed to investigate the likely impact of the recently introducednew fees regime on students’ attitudes to HE and to issues of debt.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a sample of 64 students approaching the end of their Alevel study in four Further Education Colleges in the South and North of England, the research utilisedfocus group interviews to seek views about the new fees regime which were to be introduced inSeptember 2006 throughout the country.Findings – The research found that, while the issue of debt was a significant concern for manystudents, the desire to go to university either immediately or in the long term, remained a strongpriority for the students. Different types of debt aversion, including risk debt aversion, sticker typedebt aversion, value-based debt aversion and life-style debt aversion, were evident from the students’discourses.Originality/value – Overall, sufficient evidence was not found to support the general belief thatissues of student debt would significantly dissuade students from participating in HE. Rather, it wasfound that students were more likely to be rational in their decisions, as long as the increased feeswould add value to their HE experience. Significantly, the research discovers a new form of debtaversion among the participants. HE institutions need to be aware of the variety of forms of debtaversion in order to plan for more strategic recruitment in a new fees and debt economy.